The developers are testing to see if there is interest

Aug 26, 2015 12:14 GMT  ·  By

Unity Technologies announced a while back that they intend to launch the Unity game engine tools on Linux as well. Today we just received the first experimental build and it looks like developers are testing the waters.

Launching a gaming engine is very different from launching a game and it's a much more complex technology. It took them a while to make it available for Linux, but it's finally here. Sure, it's an experimental build, but it shows that they haven't forgotten the Linux developers. It's also worth noting that it's already possible to build Unity-powered games that will run on Linux systems, but the tools needed to do this are running on Windows or Mac OS X.

Unity Technologies is not yet completely convinced about releasing their tools for Linux developers and they have a good reason for that. They don't know if it's something that enough people will want in order to justify the subsequent support that needs to be provided. They can't just release the tools and forget about it. The devs will need to continue to support and update them.

Just an experimental build

If the Linux community is really serious about wanting the Unity tools, it will have to speak up. For now, only the Ubuntu distribution is supported, but it's likely that other Linux operating systems will run it just fine.

"Today’s build is what we call an experimental build; future support is not yet guaranteed. Your adoption and feedback will help us determine if this is something we can sustain alongside our Mac and Windows builds. Today’s build is based off Unity 5.1.0f3 and comes with the ability to export to the following runtimes: Linux, Mac, Windows Standalone WebGL, WebPlayer, Android, Tizen, and SamsungTV," reads the official announcement.

Users will need to have an Ubuntu 64-bit system (not required, more like recommended) and proprietary drivers for Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. It remains to be seen whether this will become a reality or it will be abandoned for lack of users and interest.